The Middletown Press (Middletown, CT)
Reunion highlights family ties
MIDDLETOWN — Since 1956, the McArthur family has not let more than two years slip by without calling family from all over the country to join them in a reunion.
This year, members honored five members in their 90s during a celebration at Cross Street AME Zion Church.
About 70 family members attended the gathering Saturday, many traveling from North Carolina, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York and as far away as California. The reunion throughout the weekend included family meals, games, hearty conversations and many laughs.
Middletown resident Martha Stewart McArthur (19051991) started the tradition in 1956, along with her husband James Russell McArthur (18981967).
As the couple’s children grew up and left the nest, Stewart McArthur decided to start holding a yearly gettogether so as not to break their strong family ties.
“It was held one day, and Martha prepared all of the food herself, while James, her husband, work tirelessly in the yard, sometimes painting, but most often tending to his garden,” said Eula McArthur Phillips, this year’s organizer.
The reunions were held on the couple’s homestead on South Street in Cromwell before they purchased a home in Middletown that was large enough to accommodate the fastgrowing family.
“Each family then began bringing in a prepared dish to the reunion to help feed the hearty appetites,” said Phillips. “The grandchildren were coming of age, and it was suggested that the reunions include more social activities. They decided to make the reunion a threeday event beginning on Friday evening and ending on Sunday after lunch.”
Three of their children were celebrated Saturday as event honorees.
“These are the people whose shoulders we walk on,” said Elenor Bain, a family member and event emcee. “There are those that have gone before us, but these are the living legends right now.”
Bain traveled from North Carolina to attend the reunion. She is a survivor of the 9/11 Pentagon attack who was an administrative assistant to the vice chief of staff at the time.
The longest living honoree is Oscar Fitzgerald, 95, born in New York City in 1923. Fitzgerald served in the U.S. Navy in the 1940s before marrying Constance McArthur, also an honoree. They have been together nearly 70 years. The couple has five children, 10 grandchildren and 10 greatgrandchildren. Fitzgerald is a retired 35year U.S. Postal Service worker.
Mary Constance Thornhill, 92, is the third daughter of James and Martha McArthur. She is a graduate of Middletown High School and Lincoln Hospital School of Nursing. She earned a bachelor’s degree and became a registered nurse.
Fitzgerald and Thornhill were unable to attend the reunion due to illness.
Lula Margaree Davis McArthur, 94, was a rehabilitation assistant at Connecticut Valley Hospital, where she retired after more than 30 years of service. She was married to Lester William McArthur Sr. for more than 70 years before he died in 2015 at 96.
The couple has four children, four grandchildren and four greatgrandchildren. Lula McArthur is a longtime member of Cross Street AME Zion Church, where she has held titles such as class leader and assistant chairwoman of the scholarship committee.
Lannie Virginia Morehead, 90, was the fourth daughter of James and Martha McArthur. She graduated from Middletown High and A&T State University in Greensboro, N.C., where she earned her master’s degree, and became a schoolteacher. She married John H. Morehead in 1954 and has four children, three grandchildren and one greatgrandchild.
Lois Estella McArthur Riddick was born Sept. 10, 1924, and died in her sleep on Dec. 2, 2018. She was the second daughter of James and Martha McArthur and Bain’s mother. She graduated from Middletown high and the New Havenbased Modern Hairdressing School. In 1946, she married Walter McKinely Riddick, who died in 1975. The couple had three children, one grandchild and one greatgrandchild.
Riddick worked at Connecticut Valley Hospital for 25 years before retiring.
“They have produced and educated fine, upstanding lawabiding citizens who have made their parents proud,” Phillips said. “Not only are the parents retired, but some have been blessed to have lived to see their children retire,” Phillips said.